Saturday, February 28

Never seem to get in the place that I belong. Don't wanna lose the time, lose the time to come.

Another visit to the Doctor, my own Doctor this time, has resulted in me being diagnosed with Asthma. It's not 100%, but he's pretty sure and there are further tests which I have to attend in a couple of weeks. Lung Function Tests they are. All sounds very ominous, huh?

So where do I stand now?
Well, I'm not sure. But with conversations with the Doc about my current co-habiting with pets and various aspects of the job I do, neither bode too well with me feeling any better anytime soon. If this is Karma biting me on the arse then I'd really like to know what I did that was so wrong....

I knew it was gonna be a tough year, but please.

Sometimes you feel so....so useless. Sometimes I feel so useless. It's a difficult thing to shake. I'm not giving up without a fight though. I know something good is gonna come out of this year, even thought getting there is gonna be so utterly unforgiving.

9 parlez:

Cody Bones said...

The best advice I have ever received is to just keep on going, don't stop, just keep on moving forward. Good luck bedshaped, I hope it works out well for you, and soon. Even if you don't like ZZ Top, I'm still pulling for you.

SL said...

Something I can help with!

Ok, first of all the tests are nothing You exhale for as long as possible into a tube. This essentially determines your lung capacity and then our asthma.

Secondly, if you HAVE got asthma it can be slightly...emasculating at first. I know for me it felt like a weakness I hadn't had before. This soon passes, don't worry about it.

So let's assume you have got it. Don't worry about why. Unimportant. You'll get an inhaler. Use it. It really helps. Will CERTAINLY mean that your job is no longer an issue. The type of inhaler depends on the severity of the asthma.

I have a brown one with steroids I use 1 or 2 times a day (2 inhales each time) and a blue one that I carry around and NEVER use. The brown one is enough. Once in the morning and sometimes once at night. That's it.

The pets...well, that might be an issue. The dog at last. As you're around them all the time, the brown inhaler might not be enough. It's amazing though, so it could well be. See how it goes.

Lastly, this is really no big deal. You aren't going to be the wheezing kid from the films. I would advise stopping smoking though. I mean smoking anything. It's probably what caused it and it sure won't help it.

Good luck mate.

Anonymous said...

Having been diagnosed as having adult onset Asthma about two years ago it's nothing to be frightened about.

As the previous poster said, the lung function test is nothing to worry about, they only want to check to see if you have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, which reads as Emphysema. You probably don't, so don't worry.

They'll give you an inhaler, or possibly two. They recently changed mine to a very funky purple one which I have to take morning and night. You also get to have the flu jab for free, which trust me, I'd take without a blink of an eye.

Getting a cold will suck mind you. However, I really wouldn't worry too much about it. If you've got any questions, ask, I'm still going through it all myself :o)

Jen said...

Give up the fags. That'll help (and also make you more handsome/fragrant). I was given an inhaler a couple of years ago and have only used it twice... bit was wheezing on the tail end of a cold and that's it.

Plenty of fresh air helps, I reckon. Kill the dog and eat it (oh, ok, maybe not then).

You'll be fine - just don't watch any asthma-related storylines in Casualty. It's not bad karma, honest!

Annie said...

Aw, you are not useless petal. What the others all said.

Cat said...

No words of advice on asthma, but definitely not useless, lovely. This too shall pass.

bedshaped said...

Thanks Cody. And just for the record I don't have anything against ZZTop per se. Actually....strike that.

SL,
Thanks for all the advice. I've got two inhalers at the moment; a blue and a brown. I've found that using the brown one first and last thing has helped a lot. I'm not using the blue very much at all.
I just found the whole thing a big shock to be honest. Since discovering I may have it, it appears that asthma appears heavily in my family, so it's probably been lurking within me for a while now.
Give up all types of smoking you say? Well....yes, you're right. And the pets....? Well, I think The Girl would have something to say about disposing of any of those. Ouch! Disposing probably wasn't the correct choice of word there, huh?

Emchi,
My Dad's got a purple one, with some kind of counter on the side of it. Is that the type for professional asthma sufferers I wonder.

SpiralSkies,
Yes, yes. Again with the fags! Hey....I've done really well giving up the cigarettes, although let's not mention any other type of smoking.
I'm afraid there can be no possible dog killing, although the cat could be a different matter. That cat fucking hates me. I can see it in her eyes.

Annie,
Sometimes you just feel like a complete useless tool, huh? Well, I do.

Cat,
Please make it go away!

Beleaguered Squirrel said...

If it's any consolation I'm having a shit year too.

No? Oh. Fair enough.

OK, here's another alightly-better consolation... my partner has asthma, and we have two cats and one dog, and they do make him slightly wheezy but it's easily controllable with inhalers and he just carries on regardless.

bedshaped said...

Oh hello Beleaguered Author. You've read back a few posts then huh? Sorry....nothing new as of late. My blogging mojo seems to have gone awol.
Here's to shit years though, huh?